I love this. Ive been feeling alil self-hating recently. Picking out my flaws and dealing with my emotions has been hard on me, and unfortunately its been hard on my family too bc they have to deal with me. Im sure these emotions are coming from my raging hormones that are a result of my monthly coming back after being absent for about 20 months. To all the new mommies and the mommies of multiples, read some of the entries (and maybe share your story) of other moms and I hope you find some comfort as I did.
The Shape of a Mother
Monday, May 30, 2011
Friday, May 27, 2011
Firsts: Wild times at the Honolulu Zoo
Ryatt's new big interest are animals. They capture his attention immediately and he starts to wiggle towards them. He loves to meet new dogs when we go to the dog park with Josey and lights up when he sees cats and birds. So when I realized how much he enjoyed seeing little animals, I filled the bird feeder and hung it by the glass door so when the birds visit Ryatt can watch them from inside. This kid just loves it! And here in Hawaii we have an array of colorful birds of all sizes come to eat treats. Anyway, naturally I thought he would love to go to see the animals Clifford visits in Ry's favorite book. So today we ventured to the Honolulu Zoo! Our first attempt a few months ago was a failure which then ended up successfully at the Aquarium. This time the zoo wasnt crowded so we were able to show Ryatt all the cool animals at the zoo. At first, he was alil over whelmed by the giant elephants but it didnt take long for him to realize that elephants and chimps and turtles were fun too! And when we discovered the petting zoo area, it was all over!! Daddy helped Ryatt pet the goat while I freaked out. I swear that goat was gonna bite us- but he didnt. Then we said hello to the big cow, the clucking chickens and the pretty Koi fish. After all that, Ryatt slept the whole way home. We had too much fun today and hopefully we can make it out there more often.
Finishing up our picnic at the zoo park and gearing up for some animal adventures.
"what is that, Daddy?...thats not our Josey"
Crawling into the Koi tank with Momma and then saying hello to the GIANT Koi.
Visited with Billy the Goat and then ended our trip with ice cream =D mmmmmm we liked it, a lot.
Crawling into the Koi tank with Momma and then saying hello to the GIANT Koi.
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Finger Foods!
A friend thought I should share my recipes (adapted from various sites) for the yummies Ive been making for my lil hungry hippo, so here they are. Enjoy!
Chicken Stix
1 c ground chicken or turkey
1 med carrot or 1/2c carrot puree
1 med apple or 1/4c apple puree
1/2 garlic clove, minced
1/2 small onion
1 egg yolk, beaten
1/4c fresh breadcrumbs or baby cereal
pinch of dried thyme or basil
pinch of ground pepper
Peel and grate carrot, apple and onion into a bowl. Mix in the ground meat, egg, breadcrumbs or cereal, herb and pepper. Combine well. Take small balls of the mixture and shape into little "sausages" (or you could make patties) . Makes about 12. Place on a lightly greased grill pan and bake 350F for about 10 mins or until browned. Allow to cool before serving. Store in an air tight container in the freezer for future consumption.
These are so yummy, I cant help but to steal a stix for myself!
UPDATED: So I decided to make these alil different and I think they are better. Not too big of a change; its easier and yields more. I used the whole 1.75 lb of ground turkey, 1/2c baby rice cereal, 1 clove minced garlic, 4 tbsp carrot puree and half apple- grated, 1/2 onion- grated, 2 pinches of basil and 1 egg yolk- combined together. Then I took a mini muffin tin and greased it, then filled each mold to the top with the mixture. Baked for about 15-20 mins at 350F- until the juices were pouring out. I took them out the oven and let them rest so some of those juices could be reabsorbed. Then I popped them out onto a baking sheet to cool completely and later put in the freezer for about 15 mins. After those 15mins I went back and put those mini loafs into a freezer ziplock bag. Made 26 mini loafs.
Meatballs
1 c lean ground beef or turkey
1/2 c mashed potato or baby cereal
pinch of basil
Preheat oven 350F. Combine ingredients in a bowl and roll into bite sized balls. Make sure to not over mix bc you will make the end result tough and dry. (I roll into grape-sized balls and cut them in halves when I serve) Place on baking sheet and cook for about 20 mins or until browned. Let cool.
I serve these with squash puree as a dipper. Also great with alil cheese and cooked tomato. You can store and freeze these in a ziplock bag.
Sweet Potato Pancakes
2 tbsp Apple puree or Pear puree
1/2 c cooked sweet potato mash
2 egg yolks or 1 egg
1/3 c flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4c milk or water
drop of vanilla (optional)
dash of cinnamon (optional)
Mix sweet potato and apple puree with egg in a medium mixing bowl. Stir in the flour, baking powder, milk and vanilla. Batter should be lumpy and similar to regular pancake mix. Heat up a greased skillet over medium heat. Spoon batter onto skillet making rounds. When the round starts to bubble, its time to flip it. Use your spatula to flip each pancake and cook the other side 1-2 mins.
I like to serve these in cut up pieces with a dab of apple sauce on each piece. These are great to serve sweet or savory, for breakfast or lunch. I make these in batches and freeze in pairs- wrap each pair in syran wrap and then store the bundles in one big ziplock bag.
Apple Muffins
1/4 c soften butter
1/4 c sugar
1 egg (or 2 yolks)
6 tbsp apple puree
1 c flour
2 tsp baking powder
pinch of cinnamon
pinch of nutmeg
Preheat oven 350F. Cream butter with sugar in a bowl. Beat in egg. Beat in apple puree. Stir the dry ingredients together and then add them to the bowl, mixing just enough to combine. Spoon into greased mini muffin tins and bake for 15mins or until the edges are browned. Let cool on a wire rack and freeze.
I bet you could mix up the fruit in these. For example; instead of apple puree you could do plum or mango or bananas (but then dont do the cinnamon and nutmeg). You could probably add bits of fruit too; like bits of apple, raisin or blueberries. I think Im going to try that next time..... These can also be sweet or savory. For example they go well with Apple raisin puree OR Sweet Potatos as a topping or spread.
If you have any yummy recipes you'd like to share, PLEASE do! I love making food for my lil man and he loves eating like a big kid =D
Hope you enjoy!
Chicken Stix
1 c ground chicken or turkey
1 med carrot or 1/2c carrot puree
1 med apple or 1/4c apple puree
1/2 garlic clove, minced
1/2 small onion
1 egg yolk, beaten
1/4c fresh breadcrumbs or baby cereal
pinch of dried thyme or basil
pinch of ground pepper
Peel and grate carrot, apple and onion into a bowl. Mix in the ground meat, egg, breadcrumbs or cereal, herb and pepper. Combine well. Take small balls of the mixture and shape into little "sausages" (or you could make patties) . Makes about 12. Place on a lightly greased grill pan and bake 350F for about 10 mins or until browned. Allow to cool before serving. Store in an air tight container in the freezer for future consumption.
These are so yummy, I cant help but to steal a stix for myself!
UPDATED: So I decided to make these alil different and I think they are better. Not too big of a change; its easier and yields more. I used the whole 1.75 lb of ground turkey, 1/2c baby rice cereal, 1 clove minced garlic, 4 tbsp carrot puree and half apple- grated, 1/2 onion- grated, 2 pinches of basil and 1 egg yolk- combined together. Then I took a mini muffin tin and greased it, then filled each mold to the top with the mixture. Baked for about 15-20 mins at 350F- until the juices were pouring out. I took them out the oven and let them rest so some of those juices could be reabsorbed. Then I popped them out onto a baking sheet to cool completely and later put in the freezer for about 15 mins. After those 15mins I went back and put those mini loafs into a freezer ziplock bag. Made 26 mini loafs.
Meatballs
1 c lean ground beef or turkey
1/2 c mashed potato or baby cereal
pinch of basil
Preheat oven 350F. Combine ingredients in a bowl and roll into bite sized balls. Make sure to not over mix bc you will make the end result tough and dry. (I roll into grape-sized balls and cut them in halves when I serve) Place on baking sheet and cook for about 20 mins or until browned. Let cool.
I serve these with squash puree as a dipper. Also great with alil cheese and cooked tomato. You can store and freeze these in a ziplock bag.
Sweet Potato Pancakes
2 tbsp Apple puree or Pear puree
1/2 c cooked sweet potato mash
2 egg yolks or 1 egg
1/3 c flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4c milk or water
drop of vanilla (optional)
dash of cinnamon (optional)
Mix sweet potato and apple puree with egg in a medium mixing bowl. Stir in the flour, baking powder, milk and vanilla. Batter should be lumpy and similar to regular pancake mix. Heat up a greased skillet over medium heat. Spoon batter onto skillet making rounds. When the round starts to bubble, its time to flip it. Use your spatula to flip each pancake and cook the other side 1-2 mins.
I like to serve these in cut up pieces with a dab of apple sauce on each piece. These are great to serve sweet or savory, for breakfast or lunch. I make these in batches and freeze in pairs- wrap each pair in syran wrap and then store the bundles in one big ziplock bag.
Apple Muffins
1/4 c soften butter
1/4 c sugar
1 egg (or 2 yolks)
6 tbsp apple puree
1 c flour
2 tsp baking powder
pinch of cinnamon
pinch of nutmeg
Preheat oven 350F. Cream butter with sugar in a bowl. Beat in egg. Beat in apple puree. Stir the dry ingredients together and then add them to the bowl, mixing just enough to combine. Spoon into greased mini muffin tins and bake for 15mins or until the edges are browned. Let cool on a wire rack and freeze.
I bet you could mix up the fruit in these. For example; instead of apple puree you could do plum or mango or bananas (but then dont do the cinnamon and nutmeg). You could probably add bits of fruit too; like bits of apple, raisin or blueberries. I think Im going to try that next time..... These can also be sweet or savory. For example they go well with Apple raisin puree OR Sweet Potatos as a topping or spread.
If you have any yummy recipes you'd like to share, PLEASE do! I love making food for my lil man and he loves eating like a big kid =D
Hope you enjoy!
Monday, May 16, 2011
Purees of the Past
Im sitting here feeding my son pieces of my lunch because hes refusing the purees Ive been feeding him for the past few months. Ive come to the realization that my baby wants to eat table food- further evidence that hes growing up. Im saddened by this realization because Ive just started to have fun making my own baby purees. Since I have probably made my last batch of cubes to feed the monster, I feel that I should share my easy-peasy super nutritional baby food combinations that Ryatt enjoyed. I think that combining fruit and veggies is a great way to pack in a double punch of nutrition, so here they are.
sorry I cant give you actual recipes. i made the basic purees like apples, pears, carrots, squash and then spiced up and/or combined with other flavors. However, these combos I made in batches together and would use the plain purees as adjustors of sweetness and flavor.
Spinach, Peas and Pears
Broccoli and Apples
Squash and Apples with nutmeg
Apples, Raisin and Cinnamon
Banana and Papaya
Sweet Potatos with cinnamon
Mango and Pears
Peas, Edaname and Apples
And we also make Sweet Potato Pancakes to eat on Saturday mornings. served with plain applesauce to act as our syrup.
These combos are so easy to make. And even though I dont have measurements here for you, they are so easy you can combine and make your own adjustments. My rule of thumb is the veggie is the prodominant flavor and the fruit was just the sweetner.
sorry I cant give you actual recipes. i made the basic purees like apples, pears, carrots, squash and then spiced up and/or combined with other flavors. However, these combos I made in batches together and would use the plain purees as adjustors of sweetness and flavor.
Spinach, Peas and Pears
Broccoli and Apples
Squash and Apples with nutmeg
Apples, Raisin and Cinnamon
Banana and Papaya
Sweet Potatos with cinnamon
Mango and Pears
Peas, Edaname and Apples
And we also make Sweet Potato Pancakes to eat on Saturday mornings. served with plain applesauce to act as our syrup.
These combos are so easy to make. And even though I dont have measurements here for you, they are so easy you can combine and make your own adjustments. My rule of thumb is the veggie is the prodominant flavor and the fruit was just the sweetner.
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Hello Spring =)
We welcome the spring season with open arms. Although we live in Hawaii and the weather is always warm, springtime means more to us than rising temperatures. Spring is about new beginnings and getting together. Everyone is coming out of their winter hibernation, so its time to pull out the grill, turn on some tunes and throw a BBQ. And with Easter right around the corner, I couldnt resist getting photos done. Heres some for you to enjoy =) The rest are on Ryatt's website, www.babyryattsadventures.shutterfly.com
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